Summary: Mom died in the spring at age 58, my 2 year old girl had open-heart surgery in June to repair a hole between the upper chambers, my grandfather passed away in August, followed by my wife's hysterectomy in the fall. Fortunately the world has several different angles from which to be viewed. I've chosen to see these events as final resolutions to difficult problems. For Mom, her brain tumor was in such a place that she was incapable of depression. Dr. Starkvance explained that sad thoughts and anxiety didn't stay with her long enough to be contemplated. She was fairly content through her illness, and didn't suffer any seizures or paralysis. As for Granddaddy, as we called him, I was saddened that he survived long enough to see my mom, his daughter, pass away. As a parent, I believe it should be against the laws of nature. We visited him within days of succumbing to the cancer that had spread throughout his body. He was pretty narc'd up for the duration of our visit. But I was able to do simple things to help our family patriarch, like wiping spit from his mouth and lifting out of bed to use the bathroom. As we left that afternoon, he finally started to rouse. We said goodbye, and he looked up at my daughter and smiled. A tear trailed down his cheek. Despite this not being a made-for-cable LifeTime movie, I was really touched. My baby girl won't remember that moment, but the juxtaposition of her small body back in full health after heart surgery and his elder body worn from the fight will stay with me. Two month prior, she was being wheeled out of the O.R. looking just as weary as him. I remember thinking how great she looked though. Despite the monitors, tubes, bandages, etc., my mind kept flashing to the future we were going to enjoy with her. She has a very fitting scar for her personality. The incision is long and vertical. Just underneath is a dot from the chest drainage tube. Together they make an exclamation point!And finally, my wife lost her lady part. But that just needed to happen. It was messing up the rest of the lady. From a guy's standpoint, no more condoms. Plus, we already met our deductible. And last, free food from friends, acquaintances and strangers from church. If you're contemplating Christ, remember there's always casserole after major surgery. Seriously, life can be a huge anchor, and I could be licking stale cake crumbs off a chinet plate at the pity party held in its shadow. I am grateful for the blessings given to my family to accept our losses and the discernment to make decisions that keep life moving forward.
Mom passed away. She had been battling a brain tumor known as a glioblastoma for the past year and nine months. We lost part of her back when she was diagnosed as a result of brain damage from the cancer. But it was actually heart failure that took her. She was too young, but I won't question God's timing anymore.
In-house designer and web developer for a large Plano-area church. Also freelance design business with my wife primarily focused on retail print advertising for the past 10 years.
James Fletcher, Robin Arocha, Angela Cain, Clark Vogeler, Karl Kuptz, James Wilson, David (Kenneth) Lewis, Michelle Beeson, Karen Symmank, Matt Lewis, Ms. Tuck, Sally (Selena) Rodriguez, Robert Sulliman, Shannon Trammel, Andy Byrum, Khhharla Click, Clayton Hays, Sean Frith, Kristen Moser, Sean Cline, Sheila Boon, Angie Buhler, Dionne (Charmin) Buhler, Paul Buhler, Traci Ledford, Lindy Fincher, Tara Patrick, Becca McCourt, Clint, Andre Yi, Sue Ji Kang, Jennifer Echols, Mike Ramsey, Paul Neal, Ed Stafford, Nicole Mendez, Sean Mulkey, Jennifer Johnson, Leah Novak, Jennifer DeJohn, Kelly Hooker, Lynn Yandell, Dana Carpenter, Mike Frame, Susan Lindsey, Allison Kirby, Jackie Pfenninger, Peggy Blair, Twain Durand, Suzi Kane, Huang Nguyen, Jason Vaughn, Holly Williams, Joe Cuello, Debbie Shortino, Perry Dunn, …
I was fortunate to interact with a lot of cool, talented people in high school. Some of them even liked me. Some threw parties, some were the life of the party, some were drama queens, some became drama majors, some were in my drama tech class with their giantic purses, some were nicer and more compassionate than their new wave/punk exteriors revealed; some had incited the four ropers who picked up the 'back' bumper of my gold, 5-speed, "front-wheel drive," '81 VW Rabbit as I put the car in reverse and nudged the gas a bit to knock them down, then put it in first to drive off laughing; some loved to dance at Monopoly's, some liked "milk & cookies" (which was just a flimsy euphemism for smoking tobacco cigarettes), some of us are waiting for another day just like fair day…
stevemarr at comcast dot net
Recently grew a stache. Looks terrible. When I walk into a room, people have told me they start thinking cheesy 70's adult film music. The hair's getting a little longer than usual too. I think I resemble the guy from "My Name Is Earl." Am I preparing to be homeless?
Been married for like 12 years, drive a 13 year old car, have 2 kids (the baby has a heart defect that will require surgery and beautiful sparkly eyes, and the boy is so multi-faceted he just makes me want to be a good father), haven't been to the gym regularly since the kids were born, but my triceps are looking pretty strong today, still no cavities, would like to run another 5K soon
